[Ip-health] Philippines: Arroyo 'in no hurry' to sign EO on cheaper medicines, exec says

[Intal - Wim De Ceukelaire]

GMANews.TV

Arroyo 'in no hurry' to sign EO on cheaper medicines, exec says

Article posted July 16, 2009 - 11:02 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Amid the frenzy created by the delay in the
signing of an order that would halve the prices of 21 essential
medicines, a Palace official hinted Thursday that President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo is in no hurry to sign the document.

In a radio interview Thursday, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar
said President Arroyo is not obliged to sign immediately the executive
order (EO) on maximum retail price (MRP) of 21 essential medicines.

"Walang makakapilit sa Presidente na pirmahan kaagad ang executive
order, karapatan niyang gawin o hindi ang pagpirma [Signing the EO is a
prerogative of the president. No one can pressure her to do that],"
Olivar said on dzXL radio

On the other hand, chief presidential legal counsel Raul Gonzalez
admitted Thursday he has not received yet a copy of the draft executive
order.

"Hindi pa po dumating sa table ko ang EO na yan [The draft EO has not
reached my table yet]. Di ko pa nababasa [I have yet to read it], but I
favor that course of action," Gonzalez said in separate interview on
dzXL radio.

On the other hand, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
said his office is expecting pharmaceutical firms could beat the
Saturday deadline for the submission of the list of common medicines
whose prices they are going to halve.

"Titignan natin kung katanggap-tanggap ang kanilang listahan ng mga
gamot at ang katumbas na mga presyo nito. Kung makikita natin na mas
marami ang kanilang nililista na mga gamot kesa sa itinakda natin, mas
mabuti. Kung hindi naman, mapipilitan tayong mag-takda ng price ceiling,
o di kaya'y ire-regulate ang presyo," Duque said in an interview on GMA
Network's early morning television news Unang Hirit on Thursday.

[We will know on Saturday if pharmaceutical firms' list of medicines are
acceptable. If we see that their proposal is better than what we are
proposing, then we go for it. If not, we might be force to impose
regulations.]

In the July 8 meeting with President Arroyo, pharmaceutical firms were
given until this Saturday [July 19] to come up with a letter of
undertaking to comply with the Cheaper Medicines Act.

The Pharmaceutical firms are supposed to lay down their proposal on how
the prices of medicines could be brought down. They would also specify
the medicines they are going to reduce prices on and the rates of the
reduction.

In Thursday's interview, Duque hinted that the decision to sign the EO
on MRP would depend on the letter of voluntary undertaking. "Kung
lalabas na mas maigi yung letter of undertaking ng pharmaceutical firms,
di na kaliangang mag-MRP [If the letter of undertaking is better than
that what we are proposing, then there is no need for regulation]."

For her part, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the
voluntary compliance is a big thing for Malaca=C3=B1ang.

"Kung sa kanila galing ang voluntary compliance at sila na mismo
mag-impose upon themselves bukas din ibababa ang presyo ng mga gamot.
Pero kung mapipilitang tayo ang mag-enforce ng batas, maraming
administrative at enforcement issues pero kaya ng gobyerno gawin yan [If
they (pharmaceutical firms) impose the conditions on themselves it will
be easier on government. If we enforce the law, there will be many
administrative and enforcement issues)," Fajardo saidn in an interview
on dwIZ radio on Thursday.

After President Arroyo's meeting representatives of pharmaceutical firms
on July 8, Senator Manuel Roxas II alleged that the President colluded
with medical companies to circumvent the law on cheaper and affordable
medicines.

But Reiner Gloor, executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Association of the Philippines (PHAP), who was present in the July-8
meet, said he believes that the meeting was not secret as critics had
claimed.

Duque had consistently denied there was a collusion, which has caused
delay in the signing of the EO on MRP.

On the other hand, Gloor denied that the PHAP asked the President not to
sign the executive order on the implementation of the MRP for essential
medicines.

"We did not ask her not to sign the MRP. We question if the MRP is
necessary and if there is a better way to achieve it [better access and
affordability of medicines]," Gloor said.

Based on this, President Arroyo gave the drug firms a deadline to submit
their proposal on how to voluntarily comply with that Cheaper Medicines
Act. - GMANews.TV
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